IDF Cancels Weekend Leave for Combat Soldiers

Weekend leave has been canceled for IDF combat soldiers due to the security situation in the country, according to a report published Thursday evening on the Hebrew-language 0404 military website.

The soldiers were ordered to remain on base due to the situation in southern Israel. In one of the units, IDF paratroopers who had already been released for the weekend were required to return to their bases.

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After meeting for four hours late Thursday, the government Security Cabinet issued a terse statement to media saying simply the military was being ordered to continue on its current path.

“The Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs has directed the IDF to continue taking strong action against the terrorist elements,” the statement said.

IDF foreign media spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, was later quoted by the English-language Ynet site as saying Israel had “ground troops that are ready to deploy. We are reinforcing the southern command and Gaza division.” He declined, however, to comment on reports that troops were preparing for a possible ground operation.

Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.